


God Will Give You Blood to Drink

by Zillabird



Category: Batman (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, M/M, No Real Witches, Period-Typical Homophobia, Psychological Torture, Salem Witch Trials, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-08
Updated: 2017-10-08
Packaged: 2019-01-09 05:10:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12269556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zillabird/pseuds/Zillabird
Summary: The town of Salem tolerates Bruce Wayne and the boy he took in some odd years ago. They tolerate them for the money that Bruce Wayne's business brings in to the struggling town and the legacy of his parents. But that tolerance is wearing thin and the more Dick Grayson bucks at the traditional conventions of the religious Puritan town the more the town resents him. Enough to cause members of the town to see evil in the shadows and trace the source back to an innocent Dick Grayson and accuse him of witchcraft.Dick's lover, Jason Todd, is a training Reverend at the church in the town. He's in no position to defend Dick, not without getting them in more trouble for having been together intimately. Still, desperately he attempts to prove his lover's innocence while the tension in the town continues to rise and threaten Dick with an execution that Jason may not be able to save him from.





	God Will Give You Blood to Drink

**Author's Note:**

> I have a busy day on Sunday so I wasn't sure I'd have the chance to post this tomorrow. Guess you all get to read it early. I'm well aware that this is the loosest fill for Father Todd, being that it has nothing to do with the canon version of Father Todd nor is Jason even a real Priest (He's a Reverend) but I'm gonna post it anyways. Hope you enjoy, whether it truly qualifies or not.

A bead of sweat rolled down from Dick’s forehead, down the bridge of his nose, and then dropped off to land on Jason’s sweat slick chest. They’d been at this long enough for Dick’s leg muscles to be twitching with exertion, clenching and unclenching with every rise and all. The headboard creaked from Dick’s grip on it. It was another obvious sign of strain from the effort of restraining his orgasm.

Jason’s hands, meanwhile, remained settled on Dick’s hips. They alternated between resting there and squeezing so hard that there would surely be bruises for Dick to touch when the nights were lonelier and cold.

“That’s it, pretty bird,” Jason whispered. “Just like that.”

The keen Dick swallowed back would have been too loud, too risky. He didn’t open his mouth until all that threatened to come out was panting and low, muted groans. One such groan escaped between barely parted lips and was cut off halfway through when Jason leaned up to cover the other man’s mouth with a kiss. Their tongues tangled together and then Dick was desperately sucking in air again. “Touch me.”

Jason complied and wrapped a hand around Dick’s cock, caught between them. His strokes were just beyond tight. His hands were calloused from physical labor. “You’re beautiful like this.”

Dick’s lips twitched in the middle of a particularly hard thrust down. “You’re biased.”

“Maybe,” Jason said. “Doesn’t make it any less true.” A twist of his hand made Dick’s hips stutter. “That’s it. I want to feel you clench around me, pretty bird.”

Dick managed a few more lifts of his hips before the motions stuttered once again and Dick felt his orgasm hit him like a gust of wind. It took his breath away. Jason rolled his hips up into him and then Dick felt the burst of heat from Jason’s release. He unclenched his hands from around the headboard, sliding down onto Jason’s chest and pressing his face into the man’s neck. A groan and a muttered, “Hell.”

Jason’s hand settled on Dick’s back between his shoulders. He laughed. It was something Dick felt, where their chests pressed together, more than heard. “That sort of language in a church, Dick?” Dick’s only response was the sensation of lips curling upwards against Jason’s neck in an unseen smile. Jason rubbed his hand in circles over Dick’s back. “Shame on you and your dirty, dirty mouth.”

“You like my mouth.”

Jason’s matching smile felt only too good on his face. He rarely got to wear it, usually only in the stolen hours where Dick and Jason got to see each other like this. No one managed to make Jason smile the way Dick did.

“I’m going to be giving the sermon this Sunday,” Jason said.

Dick’s eyebrows rose as he tilted his head back to get a better look at Jason’s face. “Moving up in the world.”

“I should have been giving sermons a long time ago,” Jason said. “I’ve been ready for this.”

“Reverend Sionis just wants someone to sweep the chapel and tend the gardens here,” Dick said. “You’re more than ready. I’m sure you’re going to do great.”

“You could come,” Jason suggested. “Not as a religious experience, but to watch.”

“I’d be more likely to give Goody Vale a heart attack,” Dick said. He pulled his arms up and rested his head on them. “Besides, what would I tell the town?”

“You’ve had a sudden religious awakening,” Jason said. “That lasts for roughly one week before you return to your heathenistic ways.”

Dick reached up, cupping Jason’s cheek and rubbing his thumb over the clean shaven skin. “I would go if it didn’t risk us as much as it would. I’ll be there in my thoughts, Jason. I’m sure you’ll do wonderfully.”

As much as Jason understood, the danger of being discovered was one that weighed heavily on him every day, it still felt like a personal slight for Dick not to be there. That was Jason’s problem, because he logically knew that Dick was only being practical. Sodomy and homosexuality was an act of sin in the Bible. Jason would face his judgement when he faced his maker but the Puritans of the town might not have been content to let him wait until the due process of justice through God.

“I understand,” Jason said.

The press of lips against Jason’s chest soothed some of the ache knowing that Dick wouldn’t be there to hear his first sermon. “You could come visit when you’re finished and tell me how it went. Give me some of the high points since I’ll have to miss it.”

“Sit down at a lovely dinner with Mr. Wayne and his ward and discuss the sermon that neither of you are ever at church to listen to?” Jason asked. His tone was dry. “I’m sure that your father would draw absolutely no suspicions from that.”

“Actually, Bruce is going to be out of town starting tomorrow. Which means I have the entire Wayne Manor Estate to myself and Alfred,” Dick said.

“Won’t your servant tell the master of the house what you and I have gotten up to under his roof?” Jason asked.

“Alfred believes in letting secrets be when they need to. He won’t tattle to Bruce,” Dick said. “Spend a day or two with me. We rarely get that chance.”

Jason covered the hand on his cheek with his own. “Alright.”

Dick smiled and rested his head back down. “I mean, I’m sure there will be a dinner which we can discuss your sermon but it is not one that you will have to share with Bruce. Trust me, you’re better off for that.”

“I can only imagine,” Jason said. “I’ve heard your stories enough to know that it is better that I don’t meet him up close and personal.”

Knowing Bruce, he’d probably figure it out. Not that he could do anything, technically, beyond telling everyone what Dick and Jason were getting up to. Dick truly believed that Bruce wouldn’t do that. Not when the consequences would be so severe. Bruce might not approve but he would never hurt Dick like that and he wouldn’t hurt anyone Dick loved like that either. “Alfred will love you, though. I think he knows that I’ve been seeing someone.”

“I sincerely doubt that he has deduced that your lover is a training Reverend,” Jason said.

“Probably not,” Dick replied. “Though you should never bet against Alfred. He’s a shrewd observer, maybe even more so than Bruce.”

“You’re not championing your cause,” Jason said.

“It has all the makings of a great afternoon or two,” Dick said. “Don’t take the coward’s way out now.”

Jason stared at him silently as he stroked his fingers through Dick’s hair but Dick knew he’d won when Jason dropped his head back against the pillow and groaned.

They shared a few more precious hours curled up together before Dick heard a rooster crow somewhere in the distance. “I should go.”

“Be careful,” Jason warned. He went to the window, unlocking the latch and pushing it open as Dick dressed. They shared a kiss and then Dick vaulted over the bottom ledge of the window. The grass was wet with dew and squeaked under the sole of his shoes.

“Good luck with your sermon, Reverend Todd,” Dick whispered. He leaned back through the window to steal one last kiss and then started the two mile hike back to Wayne Manor.

Dick woke to a pounding at the front door. Based on the dull throb at the base of his neck, he’d only managed to get a few precious hours of sleep. He stretched his arms until the joints popped and then stifled a yawn with his forearm. He threw the blankets to the side as he climbed out of bed and shuffled across the floor. Alfred and Bruce were already at the door to see what the racket was. The difference was that Bruce had likely already been up preparing for his business trip and Alfred had likely already been up to get a jumpstart on the daily chores of the household. Only Dick had been up in the wee hours of the morning and therefore sleeping on to midday.

Alfred opened the door. “Morning, good sir. I must ask what the racket is all about.”

“My wife,” the man said. Dick recognized him, but couldn’t put a name to the face. He was a man that Dick had surely passed in the general store or down by the docks, never learning his name but making a habit of greeting him with a smile. He was a middle aged man, around the same age as Bruce, with chestnut colored hair and a scar stretching from the middle of his lower lip down to the right side of his chin. “She’s gone into labor. Our last baby nearly killed her and the doctor won’t do a thing to help her.”

Dr. Simon Hurt was a member of the congregation and though Dick did his best to let people believe whatever they wanted to – he whole heartedly disagreed with the way pregnancy and birth were viewed by the church. This man’s wife would not be the first that Dr. Hurt had refused to help. He was still of the belief that men should not be permitted in the birthing process. That the pain and suffering endured during childbirth was a product of the crimes committed by Eve in the garden of Eden.

Brown eyes found Dick, still dressed in his sleepwear, and the familiar man pushed past Alfred to get closer. “Richard, help me. I know you’ve helped some others in town. Can you help me and Rebecca with the baby?”

Dr. Hurt was already not one of Dick’s biggest fans. You could hardly make money selling treatments and cures when the remedies Dick had learned travelling with Ma and Pa in the circus could be found on the hillsides in the woods or beneath the rocks by the shoreline.

“Master Richard,” Alfred warned. He put his hand on Dick’s shoulder and squeezed. “Are you quite sure this is wise?”

“I can’t just let her suffer,” Dick said. He patted Alfred’s wrinkled hand. “I’ll be fine.” With that, he pulled away and joined the man. “We should go quickly.”

There were two children on the porch steps when they arrived and Dick could hear the woman screaming from inside the small cabin. “She’s inside.”

“So I gathered,” Dick said.

He took the stairs quickly, sparing less than a second to glance at the faces of the two children Rebecca had already bore. There was a smudge of dirt on the boy’s nose. Dick threw the door opened and stepped inside, finding another child. The eldest, only twelve at the most, and seated beside her mother. She was too young to be holding a wet cloth to her mother’s brow and listen to the woman scream in pain.

Dick braced a hand against the wall and cleared his throat. “Ma’am, your husband came for help. May I come in?”

She didn’t respond verbally but nodded her head. That wasn’t the clearest answer but Dick took it as permission to step into the bedroom. He tapped the girl’s shoulder and let her slide out of the way. The cloth he pressed against the woman’s forehead again. “I’m going to help you, ma’am. You and the baby are going to make it out of this, alright?”

Hours later, Dick set the screaming infant in the arms of the mother. A screaming infant, a crying mother – it was the best outcome considering the dangers of a breech baby. He watched the mother smile with her sweat soaked hair clinging to her forehead and her skin pale. “He’s beautiful.”

“He is,” Dick agreed.

“I’m going to tell Pa,” the girl said, dashing out of the room.

Dick followed her and met the father in main room. He smiled to help ease the man’s obvious concern as he wiped the blood off his hands. “She’s doing well. She and your infant son.”

“Thank you,” he said. “I couldn’t lose her.” He stepped past Dick and followed the sound of the crying baby.

Dick stepped out onto the porch, taking a seat after laying the towel to hang off the railing. The two children ran in after their father. Exhaustion creeped up in Dick’s shoulders and made his eyelids droop. He rested his forehead in his hands and breathed deeply. A horse whinnying drew Dick’s attention just as he started to let himself relax. He narrowed his eyes on the sight of Dr. Hurt seated with the reins in his hand slowly making his way up the trail.

The good doctor looked less than pleased to see Dick there. “What business do you have here, boy?”

“Someone had to be here, considering you didn’t want to help them,” Dick said.

“Sinners burn,” Hurt said, his only response.

Dick fought the urge to roll his eyes. He put his hand on the railing and heaved himself to his feet. “I’m sure you’ll be happy to know that she and the baby are just fine. No thanks to you.”

“Men do not belong in the birthing room,” Hurt replied. “Nor should they be meddling in the punishments which God has inflicted on womankind.”

“She’s a mother with four children. That’s four children you would have let grow up without her, simply because she is a woman,” Dick said. “If they have need of you, I’m sure they’ll come find you, Dr. Hurt. For now, things are taken care of. You’re not needed here.”

~~~

Dick handed off the last of Bruce’s things to the steward. “That’s the last of it, Bruce.” When he looked up, the man was frowning at something over his shoulder. Dick twisted to see Goody Vale with a judgmental scowl. She gathered her skirts once she realized Dick was watching her and lifted her nose towards the sky to walk away.

“Word is spreading,” Bruce murmured.

“That I saved a woman’s life and that of her baby’s?” Dick asked. “I could do with worse reputations.”

“I’m proud of you,” Bruce said. “You did a good thing for a family in need. Unfortunately, not everyone sees it that way. I’m worried that this will cause problems for you.”

“It’s not like we were very involved in the town before,” Dick pointed out. Bruce inclined his head to agree with that much at least. “Go on your business trip. Come back with all the money to spend on goods. That’s why they tolerate our heathen ways and it’s why they’ll tolerate this.”

“Be careful,” Bruce warned.

Dick’s lips quirked. “Be careful yourself. You can get in far more trouble out there on the open sea than I can get here in Salem.”

“Anyone else and I would agree, but you have a nasty habit of managing to work yourself into the most unbelievable situations,” Bruce said. He slapped Dick’s arm. “Either way, it’s time for me to go.”

Dick stayed on the dock until the ship was barely visible on the horizon. He carefully undid the buttons on his vest and then started towards the horse and wagon.

“Mr. Grayson.” That was a voice that Dick would recognize anywhere and he found himself smiling despite the somewhat crowded dock. Jason greeted him in the dark linens of his station, the cross hanging from around his neck.

“Reverend Todd,” Dick greeted in kind. “What brings you to the shore?”

“I find it to be a good place to think,” Jason said. “Besides, I’ve been meaning to talk to you and it seems that He has brought you here. I shouldn’t have expected anything less.”

“What could our esteemed Reverend have to say to me?” Dick asked.

“I was hoping that we could speak over dinner,” Jason said. “Or rather supper, at this late hour. I’d like to discuss you and your father turning to the church.”

Dick’s nose wrinkled. He couldn’t help it. He still managed to gesture to the wagon. “I’m sure Alfred has something waiting at home.”

Jason climbed up. Dick pressed his hand against Jason’s rear, an innocent enough action to anyone who might be watching, and then squeezed. It might not have looked like much, but Jason’s startle was entirely worth the small risk of the action. Dick sat down beside him, unwinding the reins and getting the horses moved back towards the estate.

“This coming from the man who won’t come see my sermon for risk of being caught,” Jason said.

“No one was even watching,” Dick whispered.

Jason’s lips thinned. He folded his hands in his lap. “I saw you and Mr. Wayne talking-“

Dick chuckled. “We do that from time to time.”

“-And Goody Vale scorn you,” Jason finished. He glanced at Dick. “I heard about Goody James and the birth of her newborn son.”

Dick’s grip tightened around the reins. “The baby was coming feet first, Jason. If I didn’t help she was going to die and that baby would have had several broken bones at the very least.”

“You and your father are already not looked on positively by the members of the congregation,” Jason said. “You need to be more careful. What will you do if you’re ostracized from the community?”

“I imagine that I would go back to travelling and performing,” Dick said. “It worked for my family and I once, and it would work again if need be.”

Jason huffed. “This could all be prevented if the two of you would just appear at church. A few hours once a week would not kill either of you, and it would go a far way to easing relations between you and the town.”

“As long as I followed their rules,” Dick said. “Letting women die because an old book told them that she deserved the pain and troubles of childbirth.”

“ _I_ don’t believe that,” Jason said. “Besides, I’m not even talking about religion. This isn’t about preaching to you. I swore that I wouldn’t when we started this and I meant it. I’m talking about giving the town peace of mind, letting them see you as a good, virtuous soul that will go to Heaven. At least less of a heretic than they see you as now.”

“I’ll consider it,” Dick said.

Dick could feel the heat of Jason’s stare before the man broke it off and sighed. “No, you won’t.”

It wasn’t in Dick to lie to him. Maybe he would consider it, but in all likelihood he would change nothing and he knew that going in. Jason’s knee pressed against Dick’s and the small point of connection spread warmth through Dick’s leg. “You know that I only worry about you.”

“I’m fine,” Dick said. “If the town has tolerated us for this long, I can’t see why they wouldn’t tolerate us now.”

“Things change,” Jason reminded him. “That fact is the only thing which remains the same.”

It was indeed supper by the time Dick and Jason reached Wayne Manor. Bruce didn’t like having many servants around the house. He ran a very successful business, one that had caused him to have enemies in many places. There had been a few instances of men and women coming with all sorts of stories just to get ahold of something that could put Bruce out of business. So one servant, the well trusted man who had raised him after his parents’ deaths, and no one else to be had underfoot. It left Dick to unhook the horses himself and take them to the barn.

“Master Richard and- what a surprise, Reverend Todd,” Alfred said. He shook Jason’s hand. “Will you be joining us for supper?”

“If it’s not too much of a trouble,” Jason said. “Dick invited me.”

That lie elicited a snort from Dick. He covered it, poorly, with a cough, and still earned himself an arched brow from Alfred. “I should have asked first, Alfred. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, Master Richard. There is plenty of food to go around. It is so rare that I get to cook for anyone who is not yourself or Master Bruce. Perhaps in Reverend Todd I will find someone with a more defined palate than the two of you,” Alfred said. “Master Richard, now that you smell as if you’ve rolled in the same hay as the horses, perhaps you’ll kindly go take a moment to freshen up. Reverend Todd, allow me to boil you some water and make you a cup of tea.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Jason said. He flashed Dick a smirk. “I’d be delighted to share some tea with you.”

When Dick came out, he smelled a lick better than he did before. There was hardly time to heat up water for a bath, so Dick had resigned himself to washing up quickly and then joining the others downstairs. He found Alfred and Jason seated at the dining room table, a tray with the kettle sat between them. There were also cups that Dick imagined were no doubt full of sugar and milk. It wasn’t immediately easy to make out what they were talking about, until Dick’s eyes fell on a book between them.

Jason was remarkably well educated, and Dick knew that Alfred had been well educated as well before coming to the Americas in search of work. Bruce had paid handsomely for Dick’s education as well, though Dick had never been a fan and promptly given up on most of the teachings as soon as he was past schoolhouse age. They appeared to be discussing the book, however, and Dick leaned against the doorframe with a smile on his face.

At some point, Jason seemed to sense Dick’s presence and turned. “Dick.”

“I didn’t mean to interrupt the conversation,” Dick said.

“You interrupted nothing, Master Richard. I need to be checking on supper anyways,” Alfred said. He stood and left the room, the door closing behind him.

Only when Dick heard the click of it shutting did he lean down and press a kiss to Jason’s lips. “You look comfortable.”

“I am comfortable,” Jason said. “Your man Alfred is quite charming and we appear to share interest in the same books.”

“I should have expected that the two of you would get alone well,” Dick said. “If for only that reason alone.”

“Are you jealous?” Jason asked, curling a hand around the back of Dick’s neck to guide him down into a kiss.

“No,” Dick said. He pulled back and took a seat beside Jason. Beneath the table, his bare foot brushed against Jason’s clothed ankle. “I get the best parts of you.”

“I’m assuming you are referring to the parts of my anatomy not required to read a book,” Jason said. He set his hand on Dick’s knee.

The door creaked as it swung open, giving just enough warning for them to jump apart. Alfred set down a serving plate of chicken and two supper plates in front of each boy. “Am I interrupting something?” It sounded like a parrot of Dick’s question when he walked in.

Dick motioned for Jason to serve himself first, as the guest. “What do you mean, Alfred?”

“Perhaps I cannot see through doors, but I can hear a flutter of chairs scuffling,” the butler said.

Dick felt heat in his cheeks. He cleared his throat. “Alfred… Jason and I are, well, we’re just-“

Alfred put a hand up to cut him off. “Are you quite happy, Master Richard?”

“Yes,” Dick said.

“Splendid,” Alfred said. “Reverend Todd, please do me the honor of eating to your fill. There is plenty to go around, especially with Master Bruce away on business. If you care for seconds, you only need to let me know.”

“Thank you,” Jason said. To that, Alfred only inclined his head.

Dick and Jason both excused themselves after dinner and a sweet dessert of rhubarb pie, two pieces each. While there was a guest room, Dick took Jason’s hand on the staircase and pulled him up the stairs and into Dick’s room. He closed the door, kicking it shut with his toes. He pulled Jason closer, hands sliding up under the man’s shirt and stroking the toned muscles there. “I’m going to get spoiled, having you here.”

Jason cupped his cheek and pressed their lips together. He pressed their foreheads together. “Don’t worry about it. Enjoy it while we can.”

They would be able to enjoy it longer if Jason would just leave. Dick had brought it up a total one time and Jason had shut him down. He was a Reverend, he wanted a congregation, he wanted to stay and Dick would ask once but he wouldn’t ask Jason to leave with him again.

Dick nodded, stealing another kiss and then stepping back to strip his shirt off and throw it at the foot of the bed.

They made love that night, well into the late hours. It was nice to be less cautious of the noise being made. Alfred was there, so some politeness was expected, but without the oppressive fear of being caught and criminalized for their actions there were breathy moans and reckless bed rocking the made the nails holding the wooden frame together creak with the force of the thrusts.

Eventually they settled back into bed and Dick wrapped his arm around Jason, pressing his face into the back of Jason’s shoulder.

“Are you certain we didn’t traumatize your poor butler?” Jason asked.

“Alfred is made of stronger stuff than that,” Dick said. “Besides, Bruce has brought women home with him before and they were not always nearly as polite about keeping the noise down as even we were.”

Jason’s lip curled. “How unfortunate…”

Dick laughed against the skin. “It made for awkward breakfast conversation for a nine year old boy, if you can imagine.”

Jason smiled. “I’m sure you were trouble all your own without Mr. Wayne’s influence.”

“I suppose that would be an adequately fair assessment,” Dick said.

“I’m going to return tomorrow. If Roman asks, I’ll tell him that there was an issue with your wagon,” Jason said. “That I had no choice but to stay.”

Dick nodded. “Now stop talking about Reverend Sionis and let me hold you for the rest of the night.”

“You’re rather bossy tonight, aren’t you?” Jason asked.

Dick’s hand squeezed Jason’s hip. “I thought you liked me kind of bossy.”

“I love you bossy,” Jason said, rolling over and kissing him. He wrapped his arms around Dick and pulled him up against Jason’s chest. Dick buried his face against Jason’s neck and inhaled deeply.

“So close,” Dick murmured.

Jason didn’t have to ask what he meant. Getting those words out, acknowledging the feelings _and_ knowing that they could never come to any real fruition, had been so far impossible. For Jason. Dick had managed to tell Jason how he felt so much sooner. So instead, Jason kissed Dick’s forehead. “Goodnight.”

It felt good to have each other close, the warmth of a body in his arms.

~~~

Alfred came to find them with Dick seated at the piano and Jason beside him. The reverend was struggling with Dick’s lessons, but dutifully curving his hands over the keys and striking them when and where Dick told him to. The result was a sort of cacophonous melody and brassy laughter from Alfred’s charge when awkward notes broke up the stilted song Dick was teaching Reverend Jason.

“My apologies to interrupt, Master Richard, but Constable Dent is at the door for you,” Alfred said.

Dick’s smile faded. He folded down the lid over the piano keys and stood. “Jason, you should go up to the bedroom. I’m not sure he won’t want to come in.”

Jason nodded, also having lost his smile. He kissed Dick’s cheek and stepped past him, excusing himself as he walked past Alfred. Alfred’s heart broke for the sudden chill where only moments ago there had been joy. Alfred mourned that love in all shapes and sizes couldn’t be shouted from the rooftops, but it was not a battle that would be won by a single English butler and likely not by the ward of a businessman and a training clergyman either.

Dick opened the door where Alfred had left the constable standing. He greeted the man with a warm smile and had Alfred not seen the frustration and resignation when he’d interrupted their good time, he would not have known that the smile was faked. “Constable Dent, what a surprise. How can I help you today? If you’re looking for Bruce, I’m afraid you’ve missed him. He left for business yesterday. He won’t be back for a couple of weeks.”

“I’m not here for Bruce,” Harvey said. “I’m here to talk to you.”

Dick frowned, leaning against the doorway. “Me?”

“We’ve had a complaint. There have been charges of witchcraft,” Harvey said.

Silence met the accusation. Dick curled his hand around the doorway tightly and then narrowed his eyes. “Witchcraft?”

“Witchcraft,” he confirmed.

“What, pray tell, have I done to be accused of witchcraft?” Dick demanded.

“I don’t want to get into the specifics, Richard. That’s a quick way to starting trouble in the community and we’ve had enough problems with conflict recently without stirring up more,” Harvey said. “But I will tell you, as I’ve warned Bruce of before, that your dealings in herbal remedies no matter how you claim to have learned about them-“

“It’s not a claim. I learned them from my mother,” Dick cut in.

Harvey continued as if Dick hadn’t spoken. “Should have stopped a long time ago. I told Bruce that nothing good would come of this. You should keep your head down, Richard.”

“Don’t tell me to keep my head down. You and the rest of this town have known me since I was ten,” Dick said. “You know I am no more a witch than you are.”

“I talked to the woman. She claims that you only gave instruction through the door,” Harvey said. His eyes said that he didn’t believe that any more than Dick did. “I pray that’s the truth. It is not good to look unseemly at this time.”

“Your concerns are noted,” Dick said through gritted teeth.

“See that they are,” Harvey said. He stepped back and down the porch steps until his boots hit the ground. “Have a good day, Mr. Grayson.”

“Do the same, Constable,” Dick bit out, turning and slamming the door behind him. His hand tightened around the handle of the door, squeezing until his knuckles turned white and anger welled up in him. He tipped his head back to rest against the door.

“Master Richard…” Alfred started. He cleared his throat. “It will come to nothing, sir. That I am sure of.”

Dick stepped away from the door. “Of course it won’t, Alfred.”

“What was that about?” Jason asked when Dick stepped into his bedroom.

“I have been accused, apparently, of witchcraft,” Dick said. His lip curled. “By the good doctor, I gathered.”

Jason’s eyes narrowed and he snapped to his feet. “That’s a serious accusation, Dick.”

Dick waved it away. “I am no witch, Jason.”

“You don’t have to be to hang as one,” Jason said. It showed a brutal realism that was not often found in men of God. “He did not take you.”

“One man’s accusation, unsupported by witnesses, does not bode for conviction,” Dick said. “Constable Harvey all but told me to keep my head down and not draw more attention to myself. As long as I attempt that-“

“Which you won’t,” Jason interrupted. “One request from the townsfolk and you will ride out anywhere and administer some healing remedy to whoever asks.”

Dick clenched his jaw and he looked down. “It appears as if I will have no choice except to refuse, at least for a little while.”

Jason pressed his fingers against Dick’s cheek to turn his gaze up to Jason’s concerned expression. “I think the congregation of Salem could use a sermon about forgiveness.”

Dick’s eyes widened and then he covered Jason’s hand. He shook his head. “This is your first chance at giving a sermon. Don’t let my problems dictate what you preach to your congregation.”

“This is more important than that,” Jason said.

“This is nothing,” Dick said. “No, it is _less_ than nothing.”

“Still, I will preach forgiveness,” Jason said. He kissed Dick’s forehead. “It is not a waste, Dick. If for no other reason than to treat me to peace of mind, I would like to know that you are safe.”

Dick tipped his head back to kiss Jason on the lips. “I believe we were in the midst of a music lesson.”

~~~

Jason opened his room and came to a stop just inside the doorway. His private space, kept clean and tidy as per not only the way of the clergy but to his own standards, was invaded by the man intended to train him. “Reverend Sionis.”

“This is an interesting sermon,” Roman said, without bothering to return the greeting. He lifted the handwritten notes on Jason’s sermon, the scraps of paper with page numbers and bible verses listed. “Forgiveness.”

“It is a good lesson, one that our congregation and no doubt many others have forgotten,” Jason said.

“Last I heard, you wanted to do a sermon on the wrath of God,” Roman said.

Jason considered for a long moment and then replied, “It is what the congregation is used to. I hoped to use the familiar ground to make them more comfortable with my giving sermons. Perhaps set the tone for giving more sermons in the future.”

“Now you choose to abandon that plan. Why?” Roman asked.

There was no good answer, none but the truth. Jason cleared his throat. “Richard Grayson, ward of Bruce Wayne, has been accused of witchcraft.”

Roman’s eyes snapped up. “Is that so? I hadn’t heard.”

“I’m sure the Constable doesn’t want to create even more skirmishes amongst the town,” Jason said. “But this seemed a good time to remind the congregation. Between the feuding and the strain of resources, now accusations of witchcraft, it is time to remind that here we show mercy and allow Him to judge the sinners.”

“Indeed,” Roman said, trailing off. “I would take it to mean that you don’t believe that the accusations could be true. Have you stopped to consider that Wayne’s ward truly _is_ a witch? In that case, the God fearing people of Salem could not and should not suffer a witch to live.”

Jason shook his head, smiling. “I know that you and the Wayne family have met very little.”

“Not since my father was a merchant here,” Roman said carefully. “No more than in passing.”

“Then you do not realize that Richard is as much a witch as you are,” Jason said. “Or I. These accusations will pass, in time, and perhaps this sermon will aid in that as well as easing the feuding between families here.”

“I think it will take more than a sermon about forgiveness to change the ways of the people of Salem, my boy,” Roman said.

“Then perhaps you will have to let me preach two sermons,” Jason countered.

Roman’s lips twitched and he set the notes down. “Sleep well, Todd.”

Jason didn’t turn to watch him leave but he heard the door close when Roman shut it behind him.

~~~

“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you,” Jason said, reading from the passage before placing the Bible down. “Ephesians four, thirty two. It is here in the bible, not only in Ephesians, that we are told to forgive one another. To not take-“

A shrill noise came from the back, cutting Jason off. He searched the faces but failed to fine the source.

Jason cleared his throat. “To not take justice into our own hands. Judgement is for God. We are not blessed to dole out punishments, but merely children of-“

Another shrill noise escalated into a bloodcurdling scream this time. Jason abandoned his pulpit to run to her, kneeling at the woman’s side. She thrashed about like a woman…

Like a woman possessed.

Just as suddenly as this apparent fit had overtaken her, she stilled. Jason pressed a hand against her forehead. It felt no cooler or warmer to the touch than expected. He jumped when she opened her eyes.

“Grayson!”

Jason frowned. “I’m sorry!”

“Grayson is a witch!” she cried.

Before Jason could speak, a hand ripped him back. Reverend Sionis knelt down beside her in his place. “Tell me more.”

“He came to me just now and tried to possess me with a demon. He has signed a pact with the Devil,” she said.

“I knew that he was a witch. I told you, Constable,” Dr. Hurt said.

“Enough!” Jason called. Silence fell in the church. “We should consider before rushing to judgement. Judgement is not our place. Judgement is in the hands of God.”

“Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live,” Reverend Sionis said, lifting the woman off the floor. “Your mercy is a blessing from God, Jason, but it has no place in a hunt for witches. Dr. Hurt, take this woman and look after her. Constable, I believe it is time that we take Mr. Grayson into custody.”

Jason clenched his jaw. “Roman, he is innocent.”

“We shall see,” the man replied.


End file.
